Elections 2019: Silk Industry of Mubarakpur in Deep Crisis

In Mubarakpur, a small town located 19 kilometres East of Azamgarh district headquarters, the once flourishing silk industry that gave the town its cacophonous sound and peculiar aroma, has now succumbed to the market failure. Banarasi sarees have been very popular in India as well as among the Indian diaspora across the world. However, very few know that the silk that goes into making these sarees is from Mubarakpur, and this industry is not in a good shape anymore.

The withering of the handloom industry of Mubarakpur has been attributed to slow profit growth and growing number of power looms.

Following demonetisation and imposition of Goods and Services Tax (GST), many workers from this industry have lost their source of livelihood, and have been forced to look for alternatives. Several youths have moved to Middle Eastern countries in order to find employment.

"Agar kisi ke bachhey Saudi Arab nahi hote to logon ke ghar me chirag jalna mushkil ho jata (If our children would not have been in Saudi Arabia, it would have been difficult for us to survive here),” said 70-year-old Mukhtar Ahmad, who has been in the weaving business since his childhood.

“Our wages continue to stagnate. Thread and raw material are getting expensive day by day. Because of the loss in this business, many people have started driving auto-rickshaws or running roadside stalls. If this government comes to power again, we will be on the street,” he added.

Ahmad also said that demonetisation has severely affected the demand of silk. “Also, many of us couldn’t exchange our old notes during demonetisation. That money is now just pieces of paper," he said.

Some of the major issues faced by the handloom silk ndustry include scarcity and high price of raw material, GST, old technology, inadequate working capital, shortage of labourers and weak marketing.

Also read: Elections 2019: Barabanki’s Dying Handloom Industry Cries for Help

Even in the scorching heat of the summer afternoons, most houses having power looms in Resham Nagri continue to weave sarees in stuffy rooms. However, this place is not as happening as neighbouring  Varanasi.

Anwar Kamal, who runs a power loom, earns Rs 8,000-10,000 a month. He told NewsClick, "Five years back, we were happy with the same business. Earlier, we used to pay Rs 72 per month for a power loom. But after Modi government came to power, they imposed a new law on power looms. Now, we pay Rs 2,000-3,000 minimum, depending on how much electricity we use. If Modi becomes PM again, we will be forced to sell our looms.” 

Locals also said that with the arrival of power looms, hand-woven sarees have become very expensive.

The former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had set up a marketing centre in Mubarakpur, but the chairman of this market has allegedly not allotted space to anyone, and the centre remains empty. There are over hundred co-operatives, but weavers alleged that only a few, who are close to the chairman, get government assistance.

“It takes five-six hours to make one saree, and we make about Rs 250 per piece. In case of handloom sarees, it takes as long as 5-8 days to make a single saree," said Gufran Ahmad, president of weavers’ body of Mubarakpur.

Ehtesham Hussain, a weaver, told NewsClick, "Earlier, there was a shop of threads in Mubarakpur only, and we used to get threads for subsidised rates. But it was shut down 15 years back.”

“We have not received a single penny of government’s assistance. If the government helps us run the market, we will get orders in huge numbers. People from Varanasi will come to us directly. But the Yogi government has not done anything for us," added Hussain.

Mubarakpur comes under Azamgarh constituency, which will go to polls on May 12 in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

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